


Coincidence

by FrozenJinni



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Aged-Up Character(s), Airports, F/M, Fluff, No Conflict, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-05 23:45:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17334617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenJinni/pseuds/FrozenJinni
Summary: Percy and Annabeth meet for the first time at a train station and end up traveling all the way from SFO to Camp Half-Blood together.This will most likely serve as a sort of prologue for a longer project to come later in the year.





	1. Stop on 6th

Annabeth was worried she had missed the last muni, the station she sat in nearly empty except for people she was almost sure weren't going to be boarding. Her clipper card clutched tightly in her hand as she looked around, checking her watch and telling herself that no, there was another one, she was just being paranoid. She had basically memorized the schedule, and she knew that second guessing herself now was just counter productive and instead she looked around, watching for lights along the road she knew it would be coming down. But nothing but cars passed by, making her think that at this point it might be easier to call a cab.

“Uh, hello?” Annabeth turned suddenly and found a young man with black hair looking down at her. “Did you hear me?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, what?” She asked.

“I asked if you were going to SFO.”

“Oh, yeah I am.” She told him, and he smiled, sitting down beside her and letting his backpack fall onto his lap, his small rolling suitcase now an armrest as he looked at the tracks.

“I thought I'd missed it.”

“Me too.” She admitted. “I'm thinking about calling a cab.”

“Really?” He looked at her. “When is it supposed to be here?”

“About five minutes ago.”

“Well then today is my lucky day.”

“How so?” She asked, finally turning to him. “If the muni doesn't come we're both gonna miss our flights.”

“But if it does come, even though it's late, we'll _both_ make our flights.” He pointed out. “So it might not be your idea of lucky, but to me it's pretty great.”

“I guess.” She crossed her arms over her chest. His logic irritated her, but even she could see that he was right.

“I'm Percy by the way.” He said, holding out his hand.

“Annabeth.” She said, taking it tentatively. His skin was warm without feeling sweaty, even in the warm Californian night, and he held on a few seconds longer than she thought he would, before letting her slip away from him and turn back to the tracks in front of them.

“How much longer were you planning on waiting?” He asked eventually. “Just so I know.”

“Soon.” She admitted, starting to get nervous. “Why do you need to know?”

“Well we're both going to SFO, I assumed we could share a cab.”

“That's assuming a lot.” She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “I don't know anything about you.”

“I'm Percy, I'm terrible with time, and I like the color blue.” He paused. “A lot.” Annabeth was starting to get annoyed, and thought about moving when the lights from the muni caught her attention.

“Finally.” She stood up and Percy did the same, motioning for her to go first as the doors opened. Annabeth rolled her eyes and walked onto the muni, sitting down next to the window and looking out at the lights of the city. The sky was just barely starting to get dark, and she took in every second of the skyline that she could.

“It's a beautiful city.” She heard Percy's voice coming from in front of her. He had taken the seat directly in front of her and was looking out at the buildings. “I've only been here one other time.” He told her. “It seemed bigger then. Are you from here?”

“Sort of.” She admitted, surprisingly herself with a response at all. “My dad lives here.”

“Just visiting then?”

“Yeah.” The muni started to move and Annabeth glanced at Percy. He seemed in awe of the city, a gentle smile playing at his lips as he watched it pass by, his eyes dancing from one end of the window to the other as he tried to take it all in. He wasn't so bad, she decided, sitting back and watching him more carefully. Weirdly friendly yeah, but she could get over that. His eyes were a deep shade of green that she had never seen before, and their intensity was mesmerizing.

“I'm sad to leave all of this behind.” His voice was quieter now, the sounds of the train nearly drowning him out as she leaned forward to hear him better.

“Me too.” She admitted, nodding in agreement and turning to look out at the ever darkening sky. “I wish I could stay.”

“Are you going for the whole summer?” He asked. “Or just a short vacation.”

“The whole summer.” She told him. “But it's a good thing. I need to go.”

“I know what you mean.” He nodded, eyes still on the city. “I'm kind of in the same boat.” The train continued, picking up more and more people as it went, and Annabeth watched as the other seats were taken. A few stops before SFO a heavily pregnant woman stepped on, fanning herself with her hand and looking around for a seat.

“Here.” Percy got up and offered her the seat. “Please, I'm not on here much longer.”

“Thank you.” She told him, and sat down, leaning against the back and taking deep breaths.

“And people say chivalry is dead.” Annabeth whispered to him as he moved to stand beside her.

“Just doing my part.” He told her with a grin. “Besides, we've got to be getting close to SFO right?” He looked around as though the airport was going to jump out from behind one of the passengers.”

“But you just told her-” Annabeth said softly. “Oh my gods do you even know where you're going?”

“Yes!” He insisted. “But I figured I would just get off when it looked like an airport.” And he shrugged. “How was I supposed to know how many stops that would be?”

“Because then you're prepared.” She told him, folding her arms over her chest. “And you can relax.”

“But they say the name of every stop.” He pointed out, and once again she was frustrated with his logic. “So you can still relax.” He gestured to himself. “And things will work out.”

“You're crazy.” She shook her head at him, laughing in spite of herself. “Absolutely crazy.”

“I may be.” He nodded. “But I'm still here.” She nodded as if to say, _true_ , and went back to looking out the window as he moved her bag from the seat and sat next to her. He was taller than her, and even when he was sitting she had to look up to see him properly. He had been slouching so much while waiting for the muni she hadn't noticed before. But now, his posture showed her his height, how tall and lean he really was as he turned to look at her. “So, Annabeth. Tell me about yourself.” He blinked at her a couple times, waiting expectantly for her to respond.

“There's not much.” She shrugged. “I'm sitting next to a stranger, I'm hoping that even though I'm not tired I'll be able to sleep on the plane, I'm kind of hungry and I'm having trouble remembering what I had for breakfast this morning...” She trailed off and shrugged again, looking at him. “Not much going on here.”

“Well I too and sitting next to a stranger. I hate sleeping on planes, it's never comfortable, I'm really hungry but I might have to wait. I can't remember what time my flight is-” Annabeth let out a laugh, shaking her head at him.

“You are unbelievable. How do you function in the real world?”

“I'm not really sure.” He admitted. “Things just happen.”

“Things just happen.” She repeated. “Amazing.” A small part of her wished that she could be more like him. Only paying attention to the positive, letting anything negative or time consuming pass her by. But her life had been stressful, and her experiences had been difficult, leaving her as the skeptical person she was now. But that wasn't his fault, she had to remind herself of this as she looked at him in envy and disgust. That just because he could be cavalier did not make him a bad person. She envied his ability to seemingly let things happen around him. They made it closer to the airport and she pulled out her phone, making sure that her ticket was in a place that she could easily get to it. She had signed in to her flight as soon as she had left, wanting to make sure she gave herself enough time to get through security, and maybe get something to eat to take on the place with her.

“What time is your flight?” Percy asked as the muni made it's final stop at SFO. “I think my ticket is in my bag.” Annabeth thought for a moment about just walking away, leaving him standing on the train platform, but something about his sincerity made her turn, waiting as he pulled an envelope out of his bag.

“Mine's at eight.” She told him. “I like to get to the airport early.

“Mine's at eight too!” He smiled at her. “Shall we?” He motioned for her to go first, and Annabeth walked in front of him, looking for directions to the airline she would be taking. “Are you on American as well?” He asked, and she nodded. “I'm guessing you know where it is.” He said, giving her a smile.

“I'm just following the signs.” She told him. “I'm guessing we'll get there eventually.” She smiled back, trying to mirror the grin he had worn when telling her about his casual lifestyle, deciding that he wasn't as bad as she had originally thought.

As they continued together through the airport, Annabeth looked around at all the people and wondered where they were going. It had been a game she had played with her father when she was a child, before their relationship broke beyond repair. He would sit with her and ask her where she thought all of the passengers were going, making up stories about what they had in their suitcases, what they were going to do once they made it to their destination, things that would keep a young child busy while they waited hours for a flight.

“Should be go through security?” Percy asked as they neared the gates. “The line doesn't look so bad, we should go now.”

“Good idea.” Annabeth pulled out her ID and phone, bringing up her ticket and waiting to show it to the officer sitting at the front of the gate.

“Have a good flight you too.” She said as Percy got his ticket back, and smiled at them before she took the next ticket. She looked at Percy for a moment who was shoving it back into his pocket.

“Where are you going?” She asked. “What airport.”

“JFK, why?”

“Oh my god.” Annabeth laughed. “Me too.” She shook her head. “We're on the same flight.”

“Really?” Percy seemed excited about this. “What row are you in?”

“18.” She told him.

“I'm in 23, but that can be changed.” He assured her, picking up his bag and walking with her to the security gate, asking her what kinds of snacks she would want, and if they should get something to share.

 


	2. Journey at SFO

Percy had always hated taking his shoes off at the airport. He liked his sneakers, and it was so inconvenient to take them off. Taking everything out of his pockets was easy, his jacket? No problem. But sneakers were his weak point. He looked to Annabeth who was wearing small flats, that slipped off without an issue and went back to his own laces, watching as she took off her jacket, pulled a laptop out of her bag, and dumped everything into bins in record time.

“Come on.” She told him. “Here.” She helped with his stuff, taking his jacket from him and putting it in the bin hers was in. “Gotta go.”

“We have time.” He reminded her, taking his shoes back on the other side as she slipped hers back on. “We're not going to be late.”

“I know.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “But I like to get through security, it just makes me relax.” She took a deep breath and looked around. “Now, you were hungry?”

“Always.” He told her, and they both looked around for food. They walked for a while, until they made it to the hub at the center of the airport, where all the food was, and Percy looked at her. “Annabeth whose last name I don't know, would you do me the honor of having bad bar food with me?” Annabeth pretended to gasp in shock.

“I thought you would never ask.” She was surprised at her own courage as she followed him, settling in with her suitcase under the table next to his as they looked over a menu.

“What time is it?” He asked her, looking at what their choices were.

“6:30.” She told him. “We got through security quick.”

“Good.” He leaned back, looking over it again, tapping his fingers on the table and looking up at her. “Care for something to drink?”

“Like water?”

“If that's all you want.” He shrugged. “But we could get something more, I don't know, alcoholic?”

“You want to get drunk and get on a plane?”

“Why not? Pilots do it all the time?” She let out a snort of laughter before covering her mouth.

“That's not funny.” She told him, but the grin on her face said the opposite, rolling her eyes as he looked back at the menu.

“So, you want something to drink or not?” He regarded her carefully, as though by looking at her closely he could deduce what she would end up saying.

“I don't know...” She hesitated, not sure if it was a good idea. She had never had a drink in an airport before, but she had seen the kind of people who did. The business women who wore heels no matter how long their flights were, their skirts tight, matching the blazer they wore on top, walking with purpose through the airport. One drink wouldn't hurt her right? She was an adult, so she nodded and told Percy what she wanted, waiting for him to decide before he got up and went to get them drinks. She watched him talking to the bartender, and wondered if this was what his whole life was like. Picking up acquaintances wherever he went, his easy charisma allowing him to gather smiles from everyone he met.

“Here you are.” He came back with her drink, placing it down in front of her and taking his seat again. “Now, what were we talking about?”

“I have no idea.” Annabeth admitted. “Probably you asking if there was anything blue on the menu again.” She laughed as he nodded and looked back at the options.

“I don't suppose they could make anything blue.”

“Other than what I'm drinking, I don't think so.” He looked down at her blue drink and sighed longingly.

“I should have known it would be blue.”

“Do you want a sip?” Annabeth found herself saying. “It's pretty good.”

“You wouldn't mind that?”

“I mean, have you had all your shots?” She laughed as he nodded.

“Clean as a whistle.”

“Then go for it.” She sat back and watched as he took a small sip.

“It tastes better because it's blue.” He assured her. “So good.”

“What did you get?” She asked, and he held it out to her, she sipped it and her eyes shut, letting it slide down her throat she smiled. “So good.”

“Yours is better.” She heard him say softly and she looked at him.

“Do you want to switch?” She asked. “So you can have blue?”

“If you wouldn't mind.” He looked at her with a sheepish expression, and she pushed her drink towards him, taking another sip of his.

“Not at all.” He grabbed hers eagerly, and she laughed as he drank some of it, smiling, which only made her laugh louder as she could see that his lips and teeth were already becoming stained from the insane amount of blue that had been dumped into the drink. “You look like you just ate a lollypop.” She said through her laughter. “It's beautiful.” He took another sip, not seeming to care how ridiculous it was, and tapped his fingers on the table again.

“Should we get something to eat?” He picked up the menu. “Appetizers on me.”

“Some of this stuff does look pretty good.” She was reading upside down, trying to make out the prices of things so she could pick something cheap. “I'm always a fan of hot wings.” She noticed that it was on the menu. “And I know it's not actually _blue_ cheese but it is in the title.”

“Fair point.” Percy looked at the menu a little while longer. “I think a choice has been reached, I will return shortly.” He walked up to the bar again, talking to the same bartender as before, pointing to Annabeth, and earning her a small wave. She waved back and watched as Percy walked back to her, settling back into his chair and taking another sip.

“They'll be over soon.”

“I can't take you seriously when you're all blue like that.” She laughed again, but instead of smiling Percy looked at her nervously for a second.

“I wasn't going to say anything, but you've got blue lips too.” He said finally. “So I guess we match now.”

“Are you serious?” She couldn't help but laugh as she pulled her phone out to check her reflection, laughing at her own lips. “Wait they aren't as blue as yours hold on.” She reached for the drink and took a sip, making sure to let the liquid linger in her mouth for a few moments before swallowing, checking again and laughing. “ _Now_ we match.” She handed it back to him and he held it up, Annabeth picking up her own drink and hitting his gently. “Cheers.”

They continued through their appetizers and decided that they should get to the correct gate ahead of time, not wanting to risk missing their flight just because they were caught up eating hot wings.

“Do you know what number it is?” Percy asked after they had paid. “We don't find that out ahead of time do we?”

“No it's on the board up here.” Annabeth pointed upward to the large departures screen in front of them. “There we are.” She pointed. “Alright, gate 85.” She nodded and turned to the nearest sign, “Over that way is 1-50, and 51-100 is over there.” She started off towards the gate, Percy following her closely and asking if she was nervous for the flight.

“Not really.” She shrugged. “They don't bother me that much, but I'm sort of used to it. I do this flight a lot.” She looked up at him. “I'm not a huge fan of the time it takes, but it's quicker than driving,”

“That's for sure.” Percy agreed, continuing to follow her until a large sign with the number 85 on it came into view.

“If you wouldn't mind.” Percy said, looking around. “I have to go to the bathroom.” He put his bag down next to the chair she had settled into. “Can you watch my bag?”

“Sure.” She smiled and watched him walk away, noticing that the journey was much more pleasant with someone to talk to, and wishing that she had the chance to travel with other people more often. She found an outlet and plugged her phone in, charging it fully like she did before any long flight, hoping that the book she had on it would last across the country, wondering if she would be able to sleep at all. She felt more awake now than she had when she had first seen Percy at the station. His energy radiating off of him and making her want to be just as vibrant, and she smiled as he returned, giving her a thumbs up and sitting beside her.

“So, what are your plans for the flight?” He asked her. “You got one of those fancy neck pillows?”

“Nope, I have books.” She told him. “I read.”

“That sounds like a nightmare.” He said as she gestured to her phone. “Reading has never been my strong point.”

“Never found stories you like?” She asked, but he shook his head.

“The words get all mixed up so I kind of stopped trying.”

“You know you can listen to audiobooks.”

“Do you have headphones?” He asked her, sitting up straighter. “We could share.” She nodded and got them out of her bag, handing him one and placing the other in head ear, turning up the volume so they both could hear it. She started to play it and Percy smiled, stretching his legs and sinking further into the seat, closing his eyes and listening while she watched him breathe. He looked peaceful, and she was sure he was falling asleep, watching people go by while she listened to the sound of the book. They only had about half an hour before it was time to board, but she let him sleep, knowing that neither of them would be in group one or two, instead pulling her legs up under her and watching as families walked by with matching suitcases, couples hung off each as they looked for their gates, people came off of planes looking disoriented, others quickly running to another flight, each person telling her a different story just based on their actions.

She had spent enough time in airports that the stories she told herself were barely lies. She could tell a business man who was waiting for his next flight from one that was dreading going home, to one that was just setting out on his journey. She could tell a single mother from one simply traveling alone, children who were being sent out on their own, and people who never seemed to be in any rush, the types that always got every where early. She could barely hear the book anymore over the din of people rushing by, and looked over to see that group three, which she and Percy were both in, was now boarding.

“Percy.” She poked him, and then looked over, letting out a burst of laughter that woke him up.

“Is it time to go?” He asked, blinking a few times. “What it is?” He looked at her and she laughed again.

“You're drooling.” She pointed, and stood up as he wiped the corner of his mouth, stretching his arms over his head and picking up his stuff, following her to the doorway and handing his ticket over.

“Have a nice flight.” The gate attendant smiled at them and let them pass.

“Well, it's been fun.” Annabeth held out her hand to him as they got closer to the plane. “Maybe I'll see you when we land.”

“You can count on it.” He told her, shaking her hand and following her onto the place. Annabeth took her seat and saw Percy, smiling to herself, _that was nice_ , she told herself, _while it lasted_ , but before she could close her eyes and wait for takeoff, she heard his voice again.

“Excuse me, sir?” Her eyes snapped open. “Do you mind if we switch seats?”

 


	3. Flight to JFK

Percy liked talking to Annabeth. She was by far the most interesting person he had ever met on the muni, and he was not willing to waste the almost seven hour flight not talking to her more. He felt as though right now, they could go their separate ways and it would be easy to never talk to each other again. But that wasn't what Percy wanted. So before he ever took his seat, he walked up to where Annabeth was sitting, and spoke directly to the man sitting beside her.

“Excuse me, sir?” The man looked up at him. “Do you mind if she switch seats?” He watched as Annabeth's eyes widened slightly, and he hoped that the surprise would not register wth the man.

“Why?” He asked without even looking at her, and Percy smiled at him.

“Well, when my wife and I bought our tickets, somehow we got separated.” He began and Annabeth smirked for a moment, nodding when the man looked to her.

“We tried to change them.”

“And with her being pregnant and all.” Percy continued. “She needs someone to hold back her hair in case she gets sick.” Annabeth had to stop herself from rolling her eyes, simply nodding again and placing her hand on her stomach, as if it would convince the man that she was pregnant.

“Oh, well I-I guess that would be fine.” The man started to get up. “No problem.”

“Thank you so much.” Percy shook his hand and sat next to Annabeth, placing his hand on hers and squeezing it, kissing her cheek and turning back to the man. “I'm in 23.” The man walked back to row 23, and Percy took his hand off her stomach.

“Now, I believe we were listening to a book.” He looked at her expectantly, blinking a few times as she shook her head at him.

“I can't believe you just did that.”

“I can't believe you went along with it.” He nudged her shoulder. “You could have just told that guy I was a creep but nope.” He grinned at her. “You played along.”

“Now, Mrs. Jackson-”

“Jackson?” She crossed her arms. “Who says I take your name when we get married?”

“Is your name better?” He asked.

“Chase.” She told him, and he nodded thoughtfully.

“It's good, but I think for the sake of the baby you should be Mrs. Jackson.” He snapped his fingers. “But if it's a boy we'll name him Chase, how about that?”

“Perfect.” She nodded. “Now all we have to do is get married and get pregnant and this plan is foolproof.”

“Don't say that too loud.” Percy looked around nervously. “We're supposed to already be there.” He put his arm around her. “So, as I was saying, Mrs. Jackson how is your tummy feeling tonight? Is it feeling upset?”

“It's fine.” She said, wondering how long he was going to keep up the charade. “How are you feeling, Mr. Jackson.” She looked up at him for a moment, before resting her head against him, feeling his heart beat and his chest rise and fall as he breathed.

“I'm a little tired.” He told her. “But overall I'm fine.”

“Do you want to listen to the book again?” She asked, but he shook his head, taking her hand in his.

“No, I want to talk to you.” He looked down at her. “That's why I switched with that guy. I could have figured out something to do in row 23.” He sighed and shook his head. “But I knew that you would be lonely here in 18 so I decided to come and keep you company.”

“Thoughtful.” She told him. “What do you want to talk about?”

“You said you make this flight a lot.” He said softly. “Why?”

“My father lives out here with my step mother.” She confessed. “But I've kind of ben all over, and my real home is in New York, so I fly out here a lot to see him.”

“Sounds nice.” He said, and the fasten seatbelt light went on as the plane began to move. “Are you close with your dad?”

“Close enough.” She said, thinking about their one hug her trip relationship that hadn't really gotten much better since she was a child. “We talk.”

“And what about your mom?” He asked. “Are you at least close with her?”

“No.” Annabeth said immediately. “I don't know her, not personally anyway.”

“I'm sorry.” His arm tightened around her. “If it's any consolation that's the way my dad and I are.”

“So did your mom teach you about condoms, just like my dad taught me about tampons?”

“Yup.” He laughed. “You understand the pain.”

“Don't worry when he have this baby we can both teach them about condoms.”

“Or in our case a lack thereof.” Percy joked and Annabeth laughed loudly, putting her hand over her mouth. She liked talking to Percy, his sense of humor and charismatic smile making it easy for her to fall into his charm, and as he commentated the plane ride she had to stop herself from laughing too loudly.

“And that fellow over there is watching porn, but he doesn't want anyone to know, that's why he keeps nodding as though it's just so interesting and intellectual.” He whispered to her, eyeing a man sitting a row down. “But who needs to keep the news _that_ secret?” She rolled her eyes at him and looked at the woman asleep next to him.

“And his wife is asleep.” She added to his story. “So this is the only chance that he's going to have while on vacation, so he's making sure to get all of the porn out of his system now.”

“Get it out of his system?” Percy laughed. “I'm not sure if it's porn that will be out of his system.”

“You're so gross.” She poked him in the side and he grabbed her wrists, holding onto them tightly and bringing her hands up to his lips, kissing the backs of them one by one and releasing them slowly.

“Did you like high school?” He asked her out of the blue, tilting his head to the side. “What did you study in college?”

“I liked high school okay.” He told him. “And I'm studying architecture.”

“You're still in college, nice.” He nodded, and then pointed at himself. “Marine biology.”

“Fancy.” She told him. “Why do you ask?”

“What?”

“Why are you asking me questions?”

“Because I want to get to know you.”

“And asking me about high school is going to do it?” She raised one eyebrow at him. “Good plan.”

“I just mean.” He sighed. “I just want to get to know you well enough so when we get off this plane it won't seem weird when I ask if I can see you again.”

“I think we're already there, oh husband of mine.” She bit down on her bottom lip as he looked at her, his smile gentler than it had been before. No longer full of bravado or suave, just a little curve of his lip as he squeezed the arm that was still around her shoulder.

“I guess you're right, oh wife of mine.”

“And let's not just mull over that.” She sat up and poked him in the chest. “You want to see me again.”

“Yeah, that was the whole point.”

“How?”

“In person preferably.” He shrugged. “But I am not opposed to talking on the phone.”

“I meant in what way, like, as friends, or...”

“As a date?”

“Yeah.”

“Would you _want_ it to be a date?”

“I think you're gonna have to ask and find out.” She nodded at him, as though daring him to ask her out, a signal that he should do it now while the moment was so perfectly centered to them.

“Annabeth Chase, who I have known for about five hours.” He took her hand. “Will you eat terrible airport food with me when we land?”

“Oh Percy!” He batted her eyelashes and laughed. “I would love to.”

“Oh, good.” He settled back into his seat and closed his eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“Well you said you would get lunch with me.” He opened one eye. “And I need to sleep, I'm exhausted.”

“But I thought we were gonna talk the whole way there.” She accused.  
“That was just so I could claim I knew you.” He closed the eye. “Now that you've agreed to get lunch with me, I see no reason to keep trying now.” Annabeth could see his point, but it didn't mean she wanted to be alone for the rest of the flight.

“Just close your eyes and try to sleep.” He told her. “It's not so bad, if you really think about it, you can convince yourself your not sitting in a chair in the sky.”

“Fine, take your nap.” She crossed her arms over her chest, but leaned on him, feeling his arm curl around her shoulder as his hand rested against her hip, thumb drawing slow circles there as he breathing began to mellow. Eventually the movement of his thumb stopped and Annabeth knew he was asleep. She opened her eyes to stare up at him, smiling to herself as she watched him sleep. His mouth was slightly ajar, but he hadn't started drooling yet, his breath hitting the top of her head as she settled closer to him, the warmth coming off his chest offering her more comfort than the small blanket that the flight attendants had handed out ever could. But she pulled it up over them nonetheless, making sure that he was just as secure as she was before letting herself fall asleep in his arms.

“Annabeth?” She heard her name being called softly and opened her eyes, looking up to see Percy smiling at her from his seat. “We're landing.” He said softly, and Annabeth looked out the window at the city, smiling at the New York skyline shined in the morning light. It had been too long since she had been away, and she was anxious to get back to the summer job that she had been waiting for all year.

She had been a patron of the camp when she was a child, a place where single parents could send their children if they needed extra help in the summer. Paid for by sponsors and counselors working at minimum wage with free room and board, it made her a lot less money than a job back in California would have, but she couldn't let the camp go yet.

“Here we go.” She sat up straight as the plane descended further, landing on the runway with a bounce, gathering up her things and waiting for people to start moving.

“What time do you have to be somewhere?” Percy asked her, standing up and opening the hatch to where their suitcases were. “I don't have to report to work until this afternoon.”

“Neither do I.” Annabeth took her bag from him and smiled, walking down the aisle of the plane with Percy following her. She felt him take her hand as they walked towards the exit, smirking at her and shrugging his shoulders like we have to keep the rouse going, and Annabeth giggled to herself, feeling happier than she had in a long time.

 


	4. Breakfast

The airport was crowded, and by the time they found somewhere to eat lunch, Annabeth was hungry. She looked around at the people eating lunch and sighed, not in the mood for anything but pancakes.

“I want breakfast.” She told Percy, and nodded towards what looked like a relatively good diner.

“I like that idea.” He told her, leading the way and going straight to the counter, setting his suitcase down and looking at the waitress behind the counter.

“Excuse me?” He asked, looking at her, and Annabeth saw him squinting to read her name tag. “Rachel!” The waitress turned quickly, brushing her red hair out of her face and smiling at Percy.

“Hello.”

“We need food.” He gestured to Annabeth. “We just got off a plane, and we are in need of coffee and pancakes.”

“Okay.” Rachel took out a notepad and wrote down what they wanted, Annabeth also deciding that eggs would make her stomach feel better, before the two of them sat down and waited. There wasn't much of a place to eat, but there was a larger area towards the center of the food court.

“I'll go grab us a table if you want to bring the food.” Annabeth volunteered, pointing to where there were some empty seats.

“Okay, do you want any ketchup or anything?”

“Nope, I'm all set.”

“Okay, I'll bring napkins.” He turned back to where Rachel was, waiting for her to call his name. Annabeth sat down and took out her phone, checking once again to make sure she wasn't needed at the camp until later in the afternoon, smiling at her phone as she saw the email from the director, saying that check in for them wasn't until four in the afternoon. Good, that would give her plenty of time to talk to Percy and still get there with plenty of time to unpack before check in. She was excited for this year, and she fingered the necklace she had been given the first time she had attended camp. A bead for each year that she never took off, twirling the round pieces of clay in her finger as she watched Percy walk towards her.

“So this is yours.” He handed her a plate. “And mine has blueberries in it.”

“Amazing.” She laughed. “They're slightly blue.”

“Of course they are.” Percy said, looking down at them. “I wouldn't want them if they weren't blue.”

“That's an odd habit don't you think?” She asked, taking a sip of coffee and letting her eyes close, the taste divine after the day she had had traveling.

“Sorry I kept it from you for so long.” He told her. “I didn't think it would ruin our marriage.” She nearly choked on her coffee and laughed, rolling her eyes at him and setting her mug down.

“So where is it that you have to be but don't have to be yet?” Percy asked her. “An apartment? New job?”

“Job that I'm going back to.” She told him. “I work at a summer camp here.”

“No way! Me too!” His face lit up as he watched her. “I wish I had gone there as a kid, it seems awesome.”

“I _did_ go to mine when I was a kid.” Annabeth told him, smiling at the memories that she kept close to her heart. “I loved every second I spent there.”

They ate the rest of their breakfast mostly in silence, the sleep deprivation finally getting to both of them as they made boring small talk and apologized for yawning.

“I need a nap so badly.” Annabeth said after they had paid. “I am so exhausted.”

“What time do you have to be at your camp?” Percy asked, looking slightly nervous. “I don't want to keep you, but I don't really want to say goodbye yet.”

“Neither do I.” She admitted and looked at her watch, trying to decide whether or not it was worth it to get there early and get plenty of sleep, or spend another hour or two in an airport with Percy.

“Where are you going?” Percy asked, walking slowly beside her as they dragged their suitcases down through the lines of gates in the airport.

“I'm going to Camp Half-Blood, it's for kids of single parents.”

“No you're not.” Percy laughed. “How did you know?” He was looking at her with amusement, but Annabeth was confused.

“How did I know what?”

“That's where I'm going.” Percy said, as though it would explain everything, but as he looked at her, his eyes widened and he laughed. “Oh gods you're serious.”

“You know what this means right?” Was smiling at him. “We could have slept on the plane.”

“I guess so.” He shook his head and looked at his watch. “I know check in isn't until later, but want to share a cab and head out there now?”

“Yeah, that sounds great.” They meandered slowly toward the front of the airport, Percy asking Annabeth all kinds of questions about Camp Half-Blood, becoming more excited than ever that he would be spending the summer in her company. The cab smelled sort of like cigarettes, but Percy was more than happy to open the window, looking out over the city that he had grown up in, and telling Annabeth about his own excitement at being able to help kids who were growing up in single parent homes.

“I never knew how close it was to me.” He told her. “It would have helped my mom a lot.”

“It was pretty great to be there when I was younger.” Annabeth told him. “My dad and I would put money aside for my plane tickets throughout the year, and I would always pack way too early.”

“Yeah that sounds like you.”

“I loved it so much that when they asked me to be a counselor I was honored.” The rest of the ride to camp Annabeth told Percy all about the camp, making sure he would already have the insiders knowledge he would need before getting there, telling him the best times to shower, the trails that sometimes were forgotten, and the right things to say to the kitchen crew in order to get the best food.

“This feels like cheating.” He laughed as she counted off on her fingers the different topics of conversation that would guarantee him a hot breakfast whenever he wanted it. “Don't new counselor have to get hazed or something?”

“Not really.” She told him. “Most of the time the counselors are people who used to be campers, so we all already knew each other.” She shrugged. “I don't know what everyone will do to the odd man out.”

“I think I can handle myself.” He told her, and Annabeth just rolled her eyes as the top of the hill came into view.

“We're here!” She said, and as the cab came to a stop she got out quickly, getting her bag and not even waiting for Percy before taking off toward the cabins. They came into view as he caught up with her, stopping beside her as she looked around, excited to start her summer. She turned to Percy and smiled at him.

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I have a plan for a longer piece for later this year, so stay tuned for a part two!


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